Go back in time and be a chaebol

Chapter 1717 Please the Right Hand of the Free World (rd update, please subscribe)

Washington in January was shrouded in ice and snow. After a snowstorm, the streets were full of snow. Without snowplows to clear the snow, the roads would even be difficult to pass.

There were few pedestrians on the road, but even so, in the ice and snow, there was a group of people with long hair holding anti-war signs and shouting slogans, completely ignoring the biting cold wind.

Meanwhile, in the Oval Office of the White House, President Johnson and his staff were listening to Secretary of Defense McNamara's report:
“…On January 1, the Navy’s intelligence-gathering ship Pueblo was operating off the coast of Wonsan, approximately 22 nautical miles from the coast.

The Kingdom of Light believes that the Pueblo has entered the 12 nautical mile area by as much as 4 kilometers, violating their territorial waters.

So they dispatched one anti-submarine boat and four torpedo boats to pursue, and also dispatched two MiG-1 fighters to deal with the US aircraft.

Although the Pueblo hoisted the American flag, their ships still pursued closely. Being caught off guard, the Pueblo did not even remove the tarpaulin from its heavy machine guns.

According to the captain's report, the Kingdom of Light Navy fired a cannon to intercept, and one of the cannons hit the ship's deck. One crew member was killed and many others, including the captain, were injured.

Currently, the ship has been captured by the Kingdom of Light and 81 crew members have been captured."

Johnson frowned as he listened to the report. He asked:

"Why didn't we rescue them in time?"

"Mr. President, when the attack occurred, the Pueblo had already reported to the Japanese base. The Kingdom of Light quickly took control of the ship, but it was escorted back to Yuanshan Port in only four hours. We had no time to react."

At this time, the United States still lacks a rapid response mechanism. Of course, even if it did, it would be impossible to send warships to rescue within four hours.

McNamara's answer made Johnson frown even more.
"Mr. President, I think we must fight back against them with the strongest attitude. They have been challenging our bottom line. Since last year, they have taken a series of fierce offensive measures: creating a large number of incidents near the DMZ on the 300th parallel, resulting in the deaths of 1 American soldiers; just yesterday, in the early morning of January 21, they attacked the South Korean presidential palace;"

As Secretary of State Dean Rusk said:
"I think we need to use force to solve this problem! Otherwise, there is no way to stop them from fighting back. They definitely want to start a war again!"

"Dean, we have 81 people held hostage in their hands!"

McNamara said:
"If we resort to force, they will most likely attack our people."

"We can't just sit there and do nothing because they captured our people."

"Yeah, does that mean we have to stop fighting during the war just because there are prisoners?"

Listening to their argument, Johnson thought for a moment, then said:

"Our full attention is now on Saigon, where the Vietnamese are launching a full-scale attack on us, and almost all cities have been attacked. Under such circumstances, it is almost impossible for us to take action in the Kingdom of Light."

"Yes, that's right. Mr. President, we must face the reality that this washing machine is likely to be planned by them for a long time. The Kingdom of Light and Hanoi are likely to be in collusion, or they have made corresponding plans. Hanoi launched a full-scale attack to attract our attention, and the Kingdom of Light took the opportunity to attack us. I suspect that they are likely to take further risky actions."

Although there is no evidence in this regard, everything is too coincidental. After all, Hanoi has just launched a full-scale offensive. When the US troops stationed in Vietnam are busy, the Kingdom of Light suddenly takes action. This cannot but make people suspicious.

"Mr. President, this is exactly why they took risky actions, because they saw that our strength was tied down in Saigon. If we do nothing, then the whole world will see our weakness."

"At that time, they will challenge us worldwide. At that time, we will not only face the problems that are coming, but also Europe, Africa, America, Russia and their allies will attack us all over the world."

This is what the United States had to deal with during the Cold War. If they backed down in one place, they would be challenged around the world.

Under such circumstances, it is almost impossible for them to retreat in the true sense, unless they want to give up their world leadership.

At this time, the Oval Office of the White House was quiet. I don't know when it started. Snowflakes were falling outside the window again. At this time, the door of the office was pushed open, and Tom Smith, deputy director of the White House Office of Staff, walked in. As soon as he entered the door, he glanced at Marvin Watson, the chief of staff, and then turned his gaze to the president and said:

"Mr. President, the Kingdom of Light has released the video footage of the captives."

As he spoke, Tom Smith turned on the TV, and a video of the American soldiers appeared on the TV. These 81 American soldiers were captured and put on display - they were dragged to the square to be shown to the people of the Land of Light to feel their enthusiasm.

Of course, the TV news did not show that when the Kingdom of Light was filming a propaganda TV program for them, several of the soldiers raised their middle fingers and were beaten up by the soldiers. After that, they dared not go against the Kingdom of Light again.

Soon, the image of Captain Ed Butcher appeared on TV. He read a confession, admitting to invading the territorial waters of the Kingdom of Light.

President Johnson frowned as he watched the captain's confession on TV.

"Did the Pueblo really enter the territorial waters of the Kingdom of Light?"

"Mr. President, it is impossible to confirm whether the Pueblo has invaded the territorial waters of the Kingdom of Light. I am afraid only the parties involved know!"

McNamara said:
"Now, the most important thing is to rescue our people!"

Dick said:
"Mr. President, public opinion will definitely react strongly now."

Public opinion... Johnson's brows were furrowed.
Now the United States is in a state of devastation after being beaten in Vietnam, and the North is launching the Tet Offensive, attacking everywhere.

Now, the U.S. military has been attacked by the Kingdom of Light again, and one person has been killed. How can domestic public opinion not be boiling?

While the president was thinking, Dick said:
"Mr. President, I think that regardless, we must respond directly and we should respond together with our allies."

When the Secretary of State mentioned the allies, McNamara said bluntly:

"Mr. President, we should go to SEA, they just commissioned a large aircraft carrier!" "Yes, Mr. President, and they are very deterrent!"

In this way, while the United States was negotiating with the Kingdom of Light and sending troops to the Far East Waters, Chang'an also faced a choice.

"Currently, the two sides are in intense negotiations, but the negotiations are not going smoothly. During the negotiations, the representatives of the Kingdom of Light left the meeting several times and refused to negotiate..."

In the study of the official residence, Li Guoren said again:
"Currently, public opinion in the United States is very intense. Polls show that 60 percent of Americans insist on resolving the issue by force. Some extremists even call for the use of atomic and hydrogen bombs against the Kingdom of Light."

"It's just some people's wild talk!"

Li Yian sneered:

"Johnson is still relatively rational. He doesn't even dare to cross the line drawn in Vietnam. Besides, when he can't get out of there, why would he go to the Kingdom of Light to start a war?"

Li Yian didn't know much about the "Pueblo" incident, but what was certain was that it did not lead to war in the end.

"Sir, the United States hopes that we can send a fleet to act together!"

Li Guoren continued:

"They specifically asked us to send the Borneo."

"Sir, they are trying to encourage others to be brave!"

He must be trying to encourage others to be brave. Li Yian nodded and said:
"It's just to show off. This is what the Americans like to do, just like the cruise in the Gulf of Tonkin."

The Tonkin Gulf cruise that Li Yian mentioned was after the Tonkin Gulf incident, the United States not only sent its own fleet to the Tonkin Gulf, but also pulled in SEA, Australia and other countries. When it finally took action, of course it was the Americans themselves who took action, but the United States needed to pull its friends together to strengthen its momentum.

"Most importantly, they need a group of friends to tell the world that they are acting together."

After thinking for a while, Li Yian said:
"Reply to them that we can send a fleet to participate in the joint cruise operation, but we hope that the incident can be handled peacefully. In the meantime..."

After a brief pause, Li Yian said to Li Guoren:

"Contact South Korea and tell them that we will provide them with 5000 million yuan in emergency military aid and weapons including F2 fighter jets. Well, Guoren, you go to Seoul in person to cheer up Park Jung-woong and tell him that the free world will definitely stand on his side. In addition..."

Li Yian stood up and paced while thinking that the reason for increasing aid to South Korea was not just to cheer up Park Jung-woong, but more importantly for the future.

"Your Excellency, Park Jung-woong will certainly be very grateful. After all, he just had his Blue House touched."

When Li Guoren mentioned the "Blue House", Li Yian raised his eyebrows. He didn't know whether it was because the Korean soldiers were too bad or the special forces of the Kingdom of Light were too powerful, and they almost got beheaded.

Under such circumstances, aid to South Korea would naturally be rewarded with gratitude from the other side. After all, at this time, Park Jung-woong was almost moving into the underground bunker of the Armed Forces Headquarters.

Of course, this aid also shows an attitude, that is - SEAs stands firmly on the side of the United States, and sometimes some things require taking the initiative.

Especially in a situation like this where you only need to work but not put in any effort, if you still make excuses for this kind of thing, it will definitely cause dissatisfaction among other people and affect the relationship between the two parties.

Therefore, not only do we have to work on this matter, but we can also make appropriate contributions. After all, South Korea has been included in that circle of interests. At this time, the original author is also expressing his attitude to South Korea and giving them reassurance.

However, the Kingdom of Light's move is unlikely to achieve any effect other than causing the United States to strengthen its naval and air forces in the Far East, significantly increase its military aid to South Korea, and use it as an excuse for Park Jung-woong to stir up anti-North sentiment.

What is the only effect?
It is to let South Korea see SEA’s support for him.

This kind of support is to pave the way for the future. If you want to become a leader, you always have to pay a price. And now, in such a tense situation, it is most appropriate to show your attitude.

Just like that, at the dawn of the new year, the situation in the Far East suddenly became tense because of the actions of the Kingdom of Light. The aircraft carrier "Borneo", which had just been commissioned at the end of last year, and the four destroyers Yongping, Yongjing, Yongsui, and Yongding, as well as auxiliary ships, sailed to the north.

It also makes the situation more tense.

But at the same time as the tense situation, the representatives of the Kingdom of Light who had originally left finally returned to the negotiation table, but the negotiations between the two sides were full of gunpowder.

In order to force the Kingdom of Light to make concessions, the U.S. military has also made various plans, including seizing a Kingdom of Light ship.

However, the plan did not receive approval from the White House.

As 81 people were detained by the Kingdom of Light, the United States, fearing the consequences, could only continue to talk nonsense with the Kingdom of Light at the negotiation table.

During this period, the United States repeatedly asked the Soviet Union to coordinate, but the Kingdom of Light did not pay attention to the Soviet Union's advice.

After the mediation failed, Brezhnev, who had lost face, was naturally very angry - after all, in the eyes of the Western world, he was the leader of the Eastern world, but he had no way to control such a small matter.

For Brezhnev, who had just come to power through a coup a few years ago, this was originally a great opportunity to demonstrate his control over the Eastern world, but he did not expect that the Kingdom of Light would bluntly say no!
Uncle cannot tolerate this, aunt cannot tolerate this. Brezhnev, whose face was destroyed, did not care about anything else. He not only warned the Kingdom of Light through diplomatic channels, but also publicly accused the Kingdom of Light of acting rashly and damaging everyone's interests.

In fact, such public accusations are generally without any binding force.

(End of this chapter)